The landscape in 2004 was a little different to what it’s like today.
For a start, 19 years had passed since Ireland’s last Six Nations championship victory. Nine years had come and gone with the Irish managing to see off England just once in that period.
Meanwhile, Clive Woodward had taken the English to the very pinnacle of global rugby. The season previous, they had whitewashed the northern hemisphere with a Grand Slam Six Nations success before going on to win the World Cup, beating Australia in the final, in Australia.
This was a serious, serious operation and, soon, a host of new talent would come along to help push England to another World Cup final in 2007.
Ireland were still waiting for the new generation to blossom, not just to bridge the gap to 1985 and win a Six Nations again, but to even start thinking about another Grand Slam – just a second ever one – like the days of 1948.
But, in May of 2004, they went to Twickenham and they fought like lions. They battled hard, they hit harder and they rose above themselves to knock the world champions flat on their arses in their own back yard.
And, afterwards, the Irish celebrated wildly – maybe rightly so, you don’t beat England every day let alone the best side in the world – but they didn’t take home any championship trophy that day. Neither did their hosts. France were celebrating the Six Nations victory whilst the Irish were toasting a good game – and England legend Will Greenwood believes it wasn’t even all that meets the eye.
“We’d won the World Cup in November – the team was slowly dismantling, we were all overweight and overegged – and the best thing Clive would’ve done would’ve been to say thank you to all of us who were over 30 on November 22nd and said ‘great job, lads’ but here come the next crowd, in reality,” he said on The Hard Yards.
“I don’t lose too much sleep about that one.”
The Irish, whilst they savoured the win, joked – they beat the best side in the world so that must mean they’re the best team in the world now. That sort of carry on.
Somewhere in the intervening years, things started to change in the Irish psyche.
Glorious failures were given short shrift, not taking yourself too seriously abandoned and what it is to actually be a winner was appreciated in their places. And the Grand Slam followed in 2009 and probably should’ve been backed up at some stage with at least another trophy but, now, the Irish are a mark of consistent success.
Three Six Nations titles in five years might, in the history books, look unprecedented but it’s just what this team comes to expect from itself now.
14 years later, they go to England again but, this time, they go having refused to celebrate the championship title too much. They go as the genuine, deserved number two ranked team in the world and they go in hunt of a second Grand Slam success in nine years.
That’s Ireland today. That was Ireland then.
